{"id":3363,"date":"2025-10-14T07:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/3363\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T07:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:22:15","slug":"how-to-file-a-privacy-complaint-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/3363\/","title":{"rendered":"How to File a Privacy Complaint in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Privacy laws are only as strong as their enforcement. In California, the state\u2019s privacy agency recently issued its largest-ever fine<\/a> for violation of the state\u2019s privacy law\u2014and all because of a consumer complaint.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s \u00a0privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA<\/a>, requires many companies to respect California customers’ and job applicants’ rights to know, delete and correct information that businesses collect about them, and to opt-out of some types of sharing and use.\u00a0It also requires companies to give notice of these rights, along with other information, to customers, job applicants, and others. (Bonus tip: Have a complaint about something else, such as a data breach? Go to the CA Attorney General<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a Californian and think a business isn\u2019t obeying the law, then the best thing to do is tell someone who can do something about it. How? It\u2019s easy. In fewer than a dozen questions, you can share enough information to get the agency started.<\/p>\n

Start With the Basics<\/p>\n

First, head to the California Privacy Protection Agency\u2019s website at cppa.ca.gov<\/a>. On the front page, you\u2019ll see an option to \u201cFile a Complaint.\u201d Click on that option.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

That button takes you to the online complaint form. You can also print out the agency\u2019s paper complaint form here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The complaint form starts, fittingly, by explaining the agency\u2019s own privacy practices. Then it gets down to business by asking for information about your situation.<\/p>\n

The first question offers a list of rights people have under the CCPA, such as a right to delete or a right to correct sensitive personal information. So, for example, if you\u2019ve asked ABC Company to delete your information, but they have refused, you\u2019d select \u201cRight to Delete.\u201d This helps the agency categorize your complaint and tie it directly to the requirements in the law. \u00a0The form then asks for the names of businesses, contractors, or people you want to report.<\/p>\n

It also asks whether you\u2019re a California resident. If you\u2019re unsure, because you split residency or for other reasons, there is an \u201cUnsure\u201d option.<\/p>\n

Adding the Details<\/p>\n

From there, the form asks for more detailed information about what\u2019s happened. There is a character limit on this question, so you\u2019ll have to choose your words carefully. If you can, check out the agency\u2019s FAQ<\/a> on how to write a successful complaint before you submit the form. This will help you be specific and tell the agency what they need to hear to act on your complaint.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

In the next question, include information about any proof you have supporting your complaint. So, for example, you could tell the agency you have your email asking ABC Company to delete your information, and also a screenshot of proof that they haven\u2019t erased it. Or, say \u201cI spoke to a person on the phone on this date.\u201d This should just be a list of information you have, rather than a place to paste in emails or attach images.<\/p>\n

The form will also ask if you\u2019ve directly contacted the business about your complaint. You can just answer yes or no to this question. If it\u2019s an issue such as a company not posting a privacy notice, or something similar, it may not have made sense to contact them directly. But if you made a deletion request, you probably have contacted them about it.<\/p>\n

Anonymous or Not?<\/p>\n

Finally, the complaint form will ask you to make either an \u201cunsworn complaint\u201d or a \u201csworn complaint.\u201d This choice affects how you\u2019ll be involved in the process going forward. You can file an anonymous unsworn complaint. But that will mean the agency can\u2019t contact you about the issue in the future, since they don\u2019t have any of your information.\"A<\/p>\n

For a sworn complaint, you have to provide some contact information and confirm that what you\u2019re saying is true and that you\u2019d swear to it in court.<\/p>\n

Just because you submit contact information, that doesn\u2019t mean the agency will contact you. Investigations are usually confidential, until there\u2019s something like a settlement to announce. But we\u2019ve seen that consumer complaints can be the spark for an investigation<\/a>. It\u2019s important for all of us to speak up, because it really does make a difference<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Privacy laws are only as strong as their enforcement. In California, the state\u2019s privacy agency recently issued its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-3363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}